


Not quite a vacation, but close enough.

by GlytheSector



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-13 01:23:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4502379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlytheSector/pseuds/GlytheSector
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The treaty of Coruscant is broken and the galaxy is back to full-scale war. But for a certain smuggler that's just a background detail.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not quite a vacation, but close enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for act 1 and 2 of the smuggler class story.

Walk into a cantina anywhere the galaxy over and at some table you'd probably hear a spacer waxing nostalgic over the sight of alien sunsets. Trazah however, had always felt that it was mid-day or its equivalent that was under appreciated by the veterans of hyperspace lanes. She loved the sights and sounds of unfamiliar moons and suns dancing across the horizon as much as the next traveler, but it was the buzz and energy of everyday life that truly made her appreciate a new world and it was the middle of the day when everyone was busy that was the best time for it. But then she'd always been more of a people person than an appreciator of scenery. It was a pity that her work so often required her to stay under the cover of night and operate in isolated areas away from populated settlements.

Today at least she and her crew had the chance to carry out their business in the full view of early afternoon, tucked away in a quiet hangar the lax Rodian spaceport officials had set aside for sentients working off the books. The humid breeze winding though the spaceport felt like hot breath tickling against her neck as she wiped the sweat from her brow. After all those long weeks on Hoth she'd been looking forwards to some sunshine again, but the temperature difference was kicking her in the rear.

She wasn't the only one struggling to keep motivated in the heat though, as Corso had unbuckled his usual heavy armour and dropped onto one of the crates they were supposed to be loading to pant like a wampa on Tatooine. “You know Captain, when you said we were finally going to have a break from all the privateer work this wasn't exactly what I was hoping for.”

Trazah had to grin at his unimpressed frown, she'd have had an easier time taking him seriously if his head hadn't been hanging upside down off the crate. “Uh huh. And what did you have in mind? As far as I'm concerned getting to pick the destination and our cargo is a break to me.”

“Well for starters a real break wouldn't involve cargo.” He slowly eased up into a sitting position, rubbing his back as he did so.

Trazah shrugged. “Cost of travel kid. Prices are skyrocketing and everyone is out to stockpile resources now open war has broken out again. Fuel's just getting too expensive to justify going anywhere with an empty hold, not with the kind of profit we could be making.”

Corso groaned in disgust. He wasn't stupid, not by a longshot but he had no patience for topics which bored him and the nitty grittty of balancing credits and costs was definitely one of them. “Do we need to be that worried? I mean come on, we just took down an Imperial capital ship filled with treasure! If Darmas wasn't exaggerating we should be set for life, right?”

Trazah resolutely ignored the slight sneer that crept into his voice at the mention of Darmas. He'd never hidden his disapproval at her relationship with other human or the slight touch of misplaced jealousy that always seemed to surface when anyone mentioned him. Despite all the time he'd spent aboard her ship Corso still didn't seem to get that she and him would have been an epically mismatched disaster. He never brought up his own interest anymore thankfully. If he hadn't backed off she'd probably have ditched him off the crew by now. But he still had a habit of sticking his overprotective nose places it didn't belong.

“We're doing fine credits wise, though it's going to take a while to sell everything off. Market is all wrong now with everyone wanting credits in hand, not invested in artefacts or hidden in a bank. But yeah we aren't exactly poor. Still, doesn't hurt to be prepared for tomorrow.” A lesson she'd learned the hard way. Her younger self hadn't so much been enrolled in the school of hard knocks as the academy of getting your ass kicked.

“Sure but we've got all that privateer work ahead of us and like you said it's open war now so there should be loads of stuff the Republic will want us to do.”

Trazah scowled in the direction of the ship. Guss was supposed to have been shifting things around in the cargo hold so that they'd have room to load up the new stuff. Normally she'd have done it herself but the mon calamari had sticky fingers so she'd figured it was best not to have him working outside the ship where he could wander off with anything. Maybe she should have got Bowdaar to keep an eye on him instead of sending the wookie for lunch, as Guss seemed to be taking an awfully long time to finish up. Knowing him he was probably napping in the cool med-bay while they sweated to death down in the hangar.

Looking back at Corso she sighed. “In an ideal galaxy sure. But things are unpredictable right now so who knows? Maybe now they don't have to sneak around the Treaty they won't need us to do their dirty work anymore. Or maybe they'll start with the shit-tastic C word.”

“Uh credits?”

Trazah grimaced. “I wish. I meant conscription.”

“Oooh.” He rubbed his neck awkwardly. “That wouldn't be so bad would it? I mean better them than the other side anyway.” She would never quite get why Corso held no resentment towards the Republic for the Hutt's supper they'd made out of Ord Mantell and all its governmental corruption. Maybe he just didn't have any anger left to spare that wasn't aimed at the Separatists.

She snorted. “Honestly I'd rather not get involved at all.”

Corso hopped off the crate only to lean against it, watching her intently. “Why not?”

“Do I need a reason?” Trazah snapped back. “There's plenty of folk out there Republic, Imperial or neither who'll never fight a day in their lives in this war. I'm happy to stay one of them.”

“Sure Captain, but we're fighting already aren't we? And we've screwed up Imp plans plenty of times, like back on Balmorra or heck that ship we just took on.”

“That's different.” She sounded far more flustered than she'd intended. She didn't feel like she had to justify herself, not really. But she'd been putting off thinking about what the resuming of open hostilities meant, what it really meant beyond mundanities like credits and job security since she'd heard the news. “The stuff we do... we get in the way sometimes and yeah we interfere when they're up to the really nasty stuff. But we don't make a huge difference, not really.”

Corso's eyebrows raised. “Modesty Captain? You sure you didn't hit your head or something while bailing out of that ship?”

“A sense of humor Riggs? Sure you didn't get a personality transplant last time we hit the Red Light sector on Nar Shaada?”

“Very funny. But I've been running with you long enough to know a deflection when I hear one.”

“And yet you still don't know when to leave well enough alone.” She smiled to take the bite out of her words. “Look, I like playing the hero kid. Who doesn't? But I don't want or need anyone relying on me to save the day. Not when it counts. Too much pressure for my tastes.”

“Fair enough.” Corso said dubiously. Having apparently satisfied his curiosity she went back to checking her stack against the cargo manifest. “Hey Captain?”

Rolling her eyes Trazah turned back round, hands on her hips in exasperation. “Every time... What is it now Corso?”

“Did you lose anyone? Back in the last war I mean.” He looked genuinely concerned and whatever his flaws Corso was not the type to rub salt in a wound but Trazah couldn't help feeling defensive.

“What the heck has that got to do with anything?”

“It's just, you've never mentioned them and the way you talk about things sometimes...” He didn't look her in the eyes, preferring to stare down the crates like they held the secrets of the force instead of just cheap weaponry. Sometimes he irritated her so damn much she forgot he was an orphan and that behind the bluster his issues had some pretty deep roots.

“My family. Some friends. Let's leave it at that, okay?” Ignoring his murmured assent she chucked him the cargo manifest. She'd been looking forwards to this break and wasn't in the mood to scratch at old scars.

“I'm going to see what's taking Bowdaar so long. Tell Guss if he isn't done by the time I get back he's going to find himself back on Hoth faster than he can say lightspeed.”

With that sorted Trazah quickly headed off towards the hangar's exit. Once she hit the main spaceport the corridors became crammed with people, droids, cargo of all sorts and at least one abandoned loader. It was enough to make her feel claustrophobic and a little dizzy, when she finally found her way out of the building and the throng of people she ducked around a corner to grab some air. Not there was much to spare, the planet's muggy jungle air was nothing like the cool clear oxygen she spent so much of her life breathing on spaceships. Trazah couldn't even see the sky clearly between the roiling clouds and the massive dome covering the city complex.

“Of all the planets in the galaxy Captain, you had to pick this one?” Risha strolled out of the crowd with an enviable ease that made Trazah suddenly aware of all the sweaty patches seeping through her worn flightsuit. It took a particularly smooth individual to make her feel an embarrassed adolescent whose horns hadn't fully grown in, but Risha had a knack for it. What was even worse was the fact that the human didn't even seem to notice Trazah's attraction to her. Her cool professional exterior had eased up considerably in all the days since they'd first met in the cargo hold, but despite their growing and surprisingly solid friendship Trazah had never worked up the courage to ask the human if she was interested in taking their relationship in a slightly different direction.

She liked Risha a lot and there lay the problem. Trazah was a gambler in more ways than one, but things were good right now and she didn't feel entirely comfortable risking that. Besides, it wasn’t as if she was hurting for company these days, not with the ongoing thing she had with Darmas.

“All this complaining, first Guss, then Corso and now you.” She shook her head at the human woman as she approached. “If you guys think you could do a better job...”

Risha smirked slightly. “I'll remind you Captain that when I was in charge of our itinerary everything went swimmingly.”

“Emphasis on the swimming.” Trazah shot back. “I nearly drowned in a Tarisian jungle bog and that was on the first planet. Not to mention the whole black hole incident!”

“Details.” The airy hand wave was pure aristocratic contempt but her smile was warm. “Seriously though, I know Rodian arms fetch a nice price on the black market but couldn't we have gone somewhere slightly more scenic?”

“Well it came down to here or back to Quesh to pick up adrenals. And since it wouldn't be "official republic business" we'd either have to pay for own venom countermeasures this time, or wear rebreathers the whole time planetside. So I picked here. Be thankful, the breathers we got onboard look older than the great hyperspace war and the air they process tastes like it too.” Truth be told Trazah couldn't actually remember buying the masks. The freighter had a bizarre and ever growing mix of equipment and besides the contents of the med-bay she could never keep track of it all.

“Well if it was here or Quesh...” Risha conceded. “Fancy getting a drink? After all that negotiating I'm parched.”

“You did offer to do it, I could have handled all the price haggling myself you know.” It was rare for Trazah to trust a crew member with such an important job really, getting the job done and delivered might make up the biggest chunk of a smuggler's rep but the handling of any face time with clients was pretty up there too.

“I know. But then I'd have had to pitch in with all the carrying and lifting it all on to the ship.” She laughed at Trazah's disgruntled expression. “Or call it practice, if I can talk a Rodian into underselling by this much then surely the Dubrillion nobility fall at my feet.”

“Bravado Rish? I think I'm starting to rub off on you.”

Risha tutted. “You were supposed to say that of course they'd all be overcome by my charm and beauty.”

“Well sure. But I'm biased.” It was hard to tell in the heat which had both of them flushed already but Risha seemed to blush, just a bit at Trazah's sincerity.

“Well thanks. I think. So drinks?”

Trazah looked off towards the crowds bustling around the spaceport and the surrounding buildings but there was still no sign of Bowdaar. “Works for me, I sent Bowdaar to get food but this heat's sort of killing my appetite. Maybe we'll see him on our way past, but if not Corso and Guss are still watching the ship.”

“Now that sounds like a reliable combination.” Risha remarked sarcastically as she began to walk off.

“Now now.” Trazah said, wagging a finger as she jogged to catch up. “Let's not be nasty about our fellow crew members.”

“Okay so maybe Corso's a bit more vigilant ever since Skavak got the jump on him. Well the second time at least.” Trazah nearly laughed but held off on it, Skavak had stolen her ship and stowed away on it after all. She could hardly mock Corso's gullibility without being a bit of a hypocrite.

“But still,” Risha continued. “Guss? I'm not so sure we should leave him around anything not bolted down.”

Trazah shrugged. “I'm giving him a shot. If he screws us over he won't do it again.”

“Hm.” She sounded unconvinced. “And what about Akaavi? Where exactly has our Mandalorian friend gone?”

As Trazah scratched at her collarbone she fervently hoped it was just the heat annoying her and not an insect bite. Most of the local critters shouldn't bother her due to the lack of pungent Rodian pheromones to attract them. But you never knew what sort of weird bugs you could get around spaceports, having hitched a ride from any random planet in who knew which sector. “She's gone to chat with some friends of friends, lots of bounty hunters around here and plenty of those have Mando contacts. She's hoping to hear more about what happened to her clan.”

“Aah. Well hopefully she has some luck. I can sort of sympathize with matters of family and revenge.”

It was Trazah's turn for a non-committal “Hmph.” as she considered Akaavi's crusade. She respected the other Zabrak and liked her well enough, or she wouldn't have her as crew. But it was hard not to look at her and be reminded of her mother and their clan, despite it nearing two decades since she'd died during the breaking of the Hydian way blockade and many years since that Trazah had anything to do with that part of her old life.

“What about here?” Risha gestured at the cantina they'd arrived at. Without discussing it they'd gone straight past all the assorted casinos and gambling dens along the busy footpath.

“Eeh, I'd like to stay outside. What about that one?” Her pick boasted a pack of open air tables and chairs which seemed to be snubbed by the cantina-goers.

Well I'd say it's a good thing we aren't planning on ordering anything to eat, but for drinks? Sure.”

“Always so picky.” Trazah joked. “We get shot at on a daily basis but a little digestive adventure is too much for you?”

Risha frowned. “Unlike a lot of people in our profession Captain I plan on living a very, very long life. Eating well is part of that.”

“Well you know what I always say. I wasn't planning on living forever anyway.” Trazah said, holding the cantina door open for Risha with a flourish. The human swept inside and headed up to the bar which was staffed unsurprisingly by a Rodian who hurried forwards at the sight of prospective customers.

“Ah good-day, good-day can I take your orders?” The bartender asked in Rodese.

“I'd like a ruby bliel for me, if you've got them.” Trazah chose to answer in Huttese, since she knew enough Rodese to understand, but had never had much practice at using the language herself. “What about you Rish?”

“I'll have a Rodian ale, and I'll be paying today.” Risha said, also using Huttese.

“Of course. You'll have them soon.” The server bobbed their head before bustling off.

“I've got the creds on me, I can handle it.” Trazah told Risha.

“I know.” Risha smiled but her attention seemed to be off in the distance. “But there's no harm in a little gift between friends now and then right?”

Trazah chewed her lip. She hadn't intended on sounding ungrateful. “Thanks.” She turned to look at what Risha was watching. In one of the shadier indoor tables an extremely well-armed group of individuals sat scowling at them. The Houk began to rise but halted when they saw Trazah's hand on her blaster. Risha was similarly armed, but she liked to carry concealed for most negotiations. Apparently it lent her an arrogant un-touchable air. With a heavy crack the Houk sat back down but continued to glare at them as his friends turned back to their drinks. Trazah winked at him as she slowly and deliberately flicked her blaster's safety off.

“We always end up in places with such charming company.” Risha muttered. “Not sure what that says about us.”

“Only good things Rish, only good things.” Trazah laughed, not breaking eye contact with the surly Houk. He didn't look like anything more than hot air really, his sleepy Devaronian friend though, now she looked like potential trouble. Thankfully she didn't seem to give a damn about the newcomers and was focused on what looked like a pazaak game.

Risha elbowed her sharply. “If you could get your head out of the stars Captain our drinks are here.” She'd already paid the bartender while Trazah had been occupied and held the brightly coloured drinks on a greasy tray. They wandered outside in silence and sat quietly for a while as they enjoyed their cool drinks.

“Stars only know what this is doing to my insides.” Risha sighed heavily as she held the glass up to squint at it.

Trazah burped in response. “Nothing worse those Huttese hangovers we had to celebrate becoming official privateers. Relax a little Risha, we're on a break remember.”

Risha allowed herself a small smile. “I can't just switch some things off Trazah. Watching all the angles and worrying about what's in everyone else's decks is just what I do. Now I know you aren't quite as carefree as you appear and a lot more intelligent than you pretend. But sometimes I still worry.”

Trazah wasn't really sure how to respond to that. “About anything in particular?”

"Guss."

"Seriously?" Trazah didn't want to sound dismissive but this was above and beyond Risha's usual caution.

"Yes seriously." Risha scowled as she toyed with her drink. "He's a scam-artist, you know it and I know it. It's sweet and all that you're giving him a chance but I'm not sure you've really considered how big the consequences could be if or more likely when he does screw us over."

"Have you maybe thought that part of the reason Guss is so likely to cheat us is cause he's convinced we'd do the same to him. If we don't give him that incentive to beat us to it, maybe this can work out?" Trazah offered.

"Captain you're in the wrong line of business for charity cases."

"Ouch, that's harsh." She took a sip of her drink while she pondered how to alleviate Risha's concern.

"Plus he's a force-user." Risha added. "And those can be a lot more trouble than they're worth."

"Aw force-users ain't all bad." Trazah thought about her sisters. As much as she loved them and she did even now, trouble was a pretty good word for them both, much as they'd deny it. So maybe they weren't the best example. "Okay so some are. But it's not like you haven't worked with force-users before. What about that old friend of yours you mentioned, Sumalee was it?"

Risha raised an eyebrow. "Force aside I wouldn't really compare the two... but you have a point. You still have to admit force-users have a pretty high potential as liabilities go."

"Ehh." Trazah shrugged. "I know for a fact that there's a whole bunch of Republic officers who've called me a walking liability. Everyone can be a liability or a risk if the circumstances are right. Short of avoiding every other living being in the galaxy though there's no way of completely avoiding that. And I've been there, done that. It's not a great way to live life."

"True." Risha allowed. "But there are ways to alleviate the threat other people pose."

"What, by never trusting them as far as you can throw them?" Trazah shook her head. "You aren't going to live a long life like that, not with that blood pressure."

"I know for a fact you get cybernetics which can help manage that. And I'm pretty sure my father had them." Risha sighed. "I'm not entirely convinced Captain and I'm not saying I trust Guss. But I trust you and I'll trust your decision. Good enough?"

"Great." Trazah was rarely if ever short on words but the declaration of trust had thrown her off balance. Avoiding Risha's look she concentrated on finishing her drink in silence. 

"So I have to ask. When did you do the whole solitary thing?" Trazah looked up at Risha's curious gaze. "It just doesn't seem like you."

"What can I say? People change."

"Not by that much." Risha teased. "I can't imagine you ever being content without someone else to chatter away with."

"Content isn't exactly the word I would've used to describe myself back then." That was an understatement. But then Trazah had never been much good at talking about the past, especially when talking about old pain. She preferred to believe that if you left the memories alone long enough, some day they'd stop hurting.

"That bad huh?" Risha asked, the smile fading from her lips.

"Well we all go through our rough spots. Maybe not hyper competent crime lord space princesses..." As attempts to lighten the mood went she had to admit it was a pretty bad go.

It did get her a slight laugh out of Risha though. "I hate to admit it, but you were right the first time. Even I've had some not so good times, you've been there for a few. Which reminds me, I never really thanked you for being there for me after my father died."

"It was nothing Rish."

"It really wasn't." Her eyes still got sad when she talked about her dad, but it didn't stop her from smirking a bit mischievously. "And thanks again for not holding him telling me to kill you against me."

"Well you didn't kill me, or even try." Which was a lot more than a lot of people could say. It really was unreasonable the number of people that had tried to kill her. "Which of course I too appreciate." She hopped off her stool to bow extravagantly. "And I thank you for it."

Risha shook her head. "Even after all this time I still can't quite tell if you're being completely serious or making fun of me."

Trazah sat back down. "Who me? I'm as serious as a hyperdrive failure with a Harrower class dreadnought on your ass."

"Has that actually ever actually happened to you?"

"Well yes. But, in my defense..." Risha just shook her head. "It totally wasn't my fault."

Risha threw her a skeptical look as she drained her drink. "Uh huh."

"It wasn't!" She pouted at Risha's snort of laughter. "Okay, well maybe a little."

"Sorry Captain, but the look on your face... I needed that laugh. We haven't really talked about it but with the Empire and the Republic going at it again things are going to get messy."

"You've been worried?" Trazah asked.

"I thought we just established I'm always worried."

"More than usual then?"

"Hm."

"Does it change your plans for Dubrillion at all?" Normally Trazah avoided talking about those plans, like she avoided most things that bothered her. She didn't want to think about Risha leaving and no matter what Risha said she knew if Risha did become Queen things would change. Risha might see her as good enough to be a friend of a monarch but her people probably wouldn't. And from the way she talked about the world and about the people of that world Trazah seriously doubted Risha would be the sort of ruler to ignore her subjects.

"I almost wish that was the case. But right now those plans aren't really solid enough for me to say if it changes this or that." She sighed heavily. "I don't know. If people are focused on the war will taking over be easier? Or will I end up bringing more death and destruction to people who are kind of sick of watching the galaxy explode around them?"

"I'm probably not the best person to bounce ideas off of about this Risha. Two reasons."

"And those are?"

"Well you might have noticed, but I'm not exactly an expert on "normal" life. So if you want to know what an average person's thought on war and chaos and crap are, I'm really not your gal."

"I might have worked that one out. Still, I appreciate your input. What's the next reason?"

"Well..." Trazah twisted her hands nervously. "I know you want this, not just cause your dad thought you should but for yourself too. You've convinced me of that. And I'll definitely be there to help, as long as you want me to." She trailed off, unsure how to say what was bothering her.

Risha frowned. "That's great and all but why do I think there's something else? You've been twitchier than a wookie at a hair salon every time Dubrillion comes up for a while now."

"Heh, guilty as charged. The thing is Risha, I like having you around. You're a really good business partner and an even better friend. The way things are right now, I'm pretty damn happy. I know it can't last forever though and as selfish as it might be I'm just not looking forwards to things changing."

It was funny, laying it all out like that. Change was a part of her life, it had to be with her endless traveling. Few things in her life stayed consistent for that long,and it had been that way ever since her parents died. Normally she was the one leaving people, forcing the change. It turned out that as much as she boasted her go with the flow nature and teased her littlest sister for being set in her ways, she was the one who dealt with things badly when other people seemed as if they were going to leave her. As personal revelations went it was kind of funny in a hypocritical kind of way.

"I've been planning this since before we even met." Risha didn't sound judgmental or angry, but she'd put on her calculating negotiator face. "But you're not asking me to change my mind, are you? So what do you want?"

"What do you mean what do I want?" Trazah asked in confusion. She'd expected exasperation at the least, not for Risha to try and fix the mess that was her issues.

"I mean how exactly can I persuade you that no matter what happens in the future, I have no intention of letting anything, be it business, royalty or my father come between us?"

Trazah smiled weakly. Risha really did have a knack for leaving her speechless. "I think you just did."

"Good. Because it really is as simple as that."

"You know for someone who hates mushy feelings and gooey moments you've been having quite a few lately."

"What can I say?" Risha rolled her eyes. “Apparently my best friend, the person whose been closest and known the most about me since I was a kid running about with Vette seems to keep need convincing of the fact."

"I'm not that bad." Trazah protested.

"You really are. But what are friends for if not a bit of reassurance now and then?"

"Well if you like me that much maybe you could help me chase down Bowdaar when we're done here. If I know him he'll smell like a garbage chute on Hutta by the time we leave Rodia and he definitely won't want a shower."

"Nice try Captain." Risha said as she stood up from the table. "Sadly hosing down the wookie duty is all yours." She offered Trazah her hand. "Now come on, let's head home."

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this fic and comments or criticism are always welcome.


End file.
